


Dwelling

by MaliceManaged



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dubious Morality, F/M, Minor Violence, honestly I'm not even sure where tho, loki needs a break, of course, referenced miscarriage, somewhere post ragnarok probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceManaged/pseuds/MaliceManaged
Summary: In retrospect, they really should have realised any child of Loki's would be as much trouble as his father...
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character & Original Child Character
Comments: 17
Kudos: 42





	Dwelling

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, look, it's a new fic not in any way related to _any_ of my ongoing projects. _Shocking,_ I know.
> 
> I stg one day I'm going to beat my muse to death with a lacy parasol. Twice.

The decision had not been made lightly, but in the end it was the only thing that made sense after everything was said and done. And despite what some may have thought, she had not had a single regret. The heart of the forest she had chosen to make her home in was far from any trace of civilization, the farthest edge of it miles away from the nearest town, the only path leading in and out a dirt road that was long disused.

The forest was meant to be haunted, you see; a tale she had not in any way dissuaded. And it wasn’t an entirely incorrect assessment. It _had_ been a troubled place, until she had arrived and banished the restless beings that prayed upon the lost and unwary. Now, however, it was only the powerful and plentiful wards she had woven around her chosen territory that kept all others away, allowing close only a very select few people who delivered any supplies she might need that she could not acquire for herself by her usual means.

It was, the dark haired woman considered as she made her way through the trees, a basket in hand slowly filling with the mushrooms she’d craved for her dinner, a perfect arrangement. Nobody to bother her there, and she wanted for nothing; not even company as some would assume, as the denizens of the forest provided plenty of that if one knew how to listen, which she did. She felt a slight tug and looked down to find a stray branch of a small growing bush had snagged the skirt of her maroon dress, and she narrowed her clear silver eyes at it until it released the fabric, seeming to shrink upon itself in embarrassment. Her gaze softened and she bent down to gently caress its leaves in forgiveness, causing it to unfurl again, and she smiled slightly before continuing on her way.

A shudder through the trees as she was almost finished with her task alerted her before she felt the presence of another, and she whirled around, the beginnings of a spell between her fingers and on the tip of her tongue that she just as quickly dropped upon seeing a boy standing a few feet away. He could not have been more than eight, black hair brushing his pale shoulders in soft curls and honey coloured eyes regarding her with open curiosity, head tilted slightly to the side. She blinked once, twice, but there the boy remained, against all reasonable expectation.

Upon being sure he had her attention, the boy smiled widely and greeted, “Hi!”

“… Hello,” she returned after a beat, almost making a question, though he seemed to not notice.

“I’m Vali; what’s your name?”

“Where did you come from?” she asked instead, wondering how he’d managed to get past all the wards, especially without her notice, “Where are your parents?”

The boy cheerfully pointed in the general direction behind him then bounced on the balls of his feet a bit. “Are you a witch? A mean old man told me a witch lives here and that she eats little boys who ask too many questions.” He scrunched his face up a bit. “Father didn’t like that very much. He told me not to pay attention to cranky old men.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Good advice.”

“Are you a witch, though?”

“… Sure. Why not.”

“But you don’t eat little boys, do you?”

“Not recently.” The boy nodded, apparently appeased, and a corner of her lips twitched upwards. “Why don’t we get you back to your father, hm? He must be worried.”

“Are you picking mushrooms?” he asked, eyeing her basket, though he didn’t let her reply before continuing on, “I like mushrooms. Can I have some?”

She sighed in slight annoyance then shooed him in the direction he’d pointed. “Maybe.”

Vali grinned then turned around and bounded off through the trees, leaving her to catch up, though his much shorter legs made that fairly easy. After a while, he looked up at her. “You didn’t tell me your name.”

“No, I didn’t,” she replied simply.

“But I told you mine.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Then you have to tell me yours!”

“I don’t _have_ to do any such thing,” she scoffed, then looked down at him and scolded, “And you shouldn’t give your name away so easily in the woods.”

“Why not?”

“Because there are beings that can use it in ways you wouldn’t much like.”

“Like what?”

“Like binding you to their service.”

Vali’s eyes widened. “Would _you_ do that?”

She snorted. “I don’t have much of a use for talkative little boys; the flowers chatter more than enough for me.”

That earned a giggle. “Flowers don’t talk!”

“Oh? Have you ever tried to hear them?” He thought for a moment then shook his head. “Then you don’t know that for sure, do you?”

His brow furrowed, but ultimately he shrugged, conceding her point. It did not take him very long to turn to another and then another subject, though, and she almost forgave the child-eating accusations thrown upon her as an attempt to get him to stop talking. Almost. By the time they neared the edge of the forest, she was quite annoyed, though she attributed that as much to the fact that it had been several decades since she had interacted with a human child as to the child himself. She also sensed a rather powerful surge of magic ahead of them that Vali was headed straight for and prepared herself for whatever it might lead them to.

Well, almost whatever. She was quite unprepared to be met with one Loki of Wherever-He-Was-Claiming-These-Days ripping through ward after ward with an increasingly frantic urgency.

The wards she’d spent a good few afternoons putting in place.

“Hey!” she called, none too pleased with him undoing all her hard work. His head snapped towards her, and the grinning boy next to her, eyes widening. She pointed down at Vali -- who she now realised had an uncanny resemblance to him -- with an irritated frown. “Is this yours?”

“Vali!” he called with undisguised relief and began to make for them before stopping abruptly as he got caught on the wards he had momentarily forgotten about.

She rolled her eyes then nudged the boy forward. “Well, go on.”

“You said I could have a mushroom!” he said instead, looking up at her almost accusingly.

“I said ‘maybe’, now get lost, boy.” That got a pout and sad eyes, and she pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers with a frustrated sigh. “Fine, take it then, you little extortionist,” she huffed, picking a few mushrooms from her basket and placing them in eager little hands, “Now _go.”_

With a final grin, Vali turned and rushed to his father, who met him with open arms and alternated between checking him all over for any injuries, scolding him for wandering off and hugging him in sheer relief. He only stopped when he noticed she had turned around and was heading back into the forest, fully intent on waiting until they left to return to fix her wards.

“Wait!” he called after her, and she threw her head back with a groan before turning around again. “What is your name?”

“She said you shouldn’t give your name away easily in the woods!” Vali piped up before she could say anything, causing Loki to look between them in surprise.

“Indeed, I did,” she agreed, “And you especially shouldn’t give your name to a Trickster.”

“I only wish to know who I must repay for the safe return of my child, nothing more,” Loki replied, choosing to make no mention of the really quite valuable advice she had given said child as well, on the off chance she would forget to charge him for it, “I give you my word I will not use it against you.”

She crossed her arms at her chest with a frown, considering her options. In the end she realised he might not leave until she told him, and so she reluctantly gave in. “Carlotta.”

He nodded and stood up so he could bow to her a bit. “I am in your debt, Lady Carlotta.”

She waved the gesture away with a soft grunt. “Just keep a better eye on that little menace and leave me to fix my wards.”

He raised an eyebrow, not really refuting her assessment of his son (he really couldn’t, after all, much as he adored him), then regarded the remains of her magic he’d carelessly torn through slightly embarrassed. “Yes, I… do apologise for that.”

“Apologise by walking,” she retorted, already getting to work.

He frowned, put off by her abrasiveness, but elected not to say anything more, simply took Vali’s hand and led them away back towards town. She glanced at them once and Vali waved at her, and she rolled her eyes and got back to work, a tiny smile making its way to her lips despite herself.

****

The boy was back the next day, and she groaned frustratedly as she hopped down from the tree she’d climbed to collect some fruit.

“Hi!” he greeted happily with a wave.

“ _What_ are you doing here?” she asked shortly, sure she’d have to replace her wards _again,_ as Loki was likely not too far behind, even as she wondered how the boy managed to get past them without notice _again._

“Do you really talk with flowers?” he asked instead, “Because I talked to some this morning, but they didn’t say anything back.”

“Then you don’t know how to listen, now go back to your father.”

“He’s busy,” he shrugged unconcernedly. “I got bored.”

“I don’t care. Go away.”

“Can you teach me how to listen?” he asked eagerly.

“Obviously not,” she groused.

“I can talk to ravens!” he announced, unbothered by her disposition, then frowned a moment, “Well, just two ravens. They’re supposed to be my uncle’s now, but they don’t like him as much as they like father, and they like me even more.”

“Good for you,” she deadpanned. “Come on, then; let’s get you back.”

“But I don’t want to go back yet,” he pouted.

“I didn’t ask,” she retorted as she turned him around and lightly shoved him forward.

Loki visibly sagged with relief when they walked out of the forest, and she spared a moment to feel sympathy for him; it couldn’t be the most pleasant feeling, realising your child was missing. He thanked her again, to which she grunted in annoyance before fixing her wards again and going back into the trees.

****

He was back. 

Again.

She briefly considered growing a wall of thorns around the forest, but that would be quite a bit of work and for all she knew he’d find a way past _that_ too.

“Boy, you are really making me reconsider my stance on child consumption.” Vali only giggled in response, which she’d expected, as the boy had yet to show any kind of caution towards her. “What do you want from me? You know, you’re racking up quite a debt for your father, which I’m sure he’s _thrilled_ about.”

“I brought you something,” he announced.

“Oh?” she raised a wary eyebrow. Vali grinned and presented her with a jewelled bracelet. She blinked at it before taking it and examining it closely, noting its fine craftsmanship. She looked back at the boy and asked, “Where did you get this?”

“It was my grandmother’s!”

Her eyes widened and she quickly shoved the bracelet back at him. “You can’t give me this!”

“Why not?” Vali asked confusedly, a bit hurt that she’d rejected his gift.

“Because I’d rather not get murdered by an angry god. Does your father even know you have that?” At that the boy looked a bit guilty. “I thought as much.” She thought for a moment then sighed softly. “Look, it was a nice gesture, but I can’t take that. It’s too valuable; your father would be upset to lose it. Understand?”

Vali thought for a moment then nodded. “I understand.”

“Good, now off you go.”

“Why?”

“Because this is my forest and I said so.”

“But I don’t want to go.”

“You’ve tried that line before, boy; it didn’t help you any then.”

“Why don’t you use my name?”

“Because you don’t matter enough for me to bother,” she retorted, hoping _that_ would drive him away. Instead he tilted his head sideways in thought. “What?”

“Uncle says that father is cold to others so that they don’t want to be around him, because then they can’t be the ones to leave him, like my mother did.”

Her brows raised half in surprise. “Your uncle told you _that?”_

“Well, he didn’t tell me about my mother, but I heard about it when I was supposed to be asleep. Father doesn’t really talk about her; it makes him sad and angry.”

“Ah. Well…” What did one even _say_ to that? She shook her head. It was none of her business. “I’m not your father.”

“But you don’t really want to be alone either,” he countered.

“I’m not alone.”

“Neither is father, but he’s still sad.”

“And, what, you think I must be, too?” she scoffed amusedly. He shrugged. “Well, I’m not. So why don’t go cheer your father up instead of bothering me?”

“Father’s busy.”

“You’ve also said _that_ before, and he wasn’t too busy not to mess with my wards again looking for you.”

“Why do you keep everyone out?”

She sighed frustratedly. “Because I don’t like people, and I don’t want them in my space. Now move.”

He pouted but ultimately allowed her to lead him back to the edge of the forest, where Loki was waiting again, though this time he hadn’t touched her wards, which she was grateful for even as she irritably advised him to tether the boy to himself or something before turning back.

****

“I’m going to feed you to a bear,” Carlotta grumbled as she walked out of the river to find Vali casually sitting by where she’d left her clothes, happily munching on some of the nuts she’d brought to snack on.

After the third time, Vali stopped coming into her forest for a few days, only to come back when she’d begun to think he was gone for good. Since then he’d been dropping by every other day, though she’d been informed by a rather frazzled Loki that it was the best he’d managed to get the boy to agree to, and since neither of them knew how in the world he was even getting in to begin with they couldn’t really do much to stop him.

What was worse, she was starting to not mind his visits as much. She wouldn’t actually _say so,_ but, well… she had a feeling the boy knew.

“Aren’t you cold?” Vali asked as she knelt down before a rock without bothering to dress and began grinding the plants she’d gotten from the bottom of the river into a paste.

“No.”

“I don’t really get cold, neither does father.”

“That’s nice, boy,” she replied distractedly.

He leaned closer to the rock. “What are you making?”

“Nothing you need to know about.”

“Is it for a spell?”

“It’s for a curse,” she corrected, by now knowing he wouldn’t just leave it alone without some kind of answer.

He let out a soft gasp. “Are you _cursing_ someone?”

“Well, it’s hardly for _me,”_ she snorted.

“Who are you cursing?”

“Stop asking questions, boy,” she warned. She really was not in the mood to deal with questions that day, much less any in the direction he was heading.

“Why?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“Why not?”

“Boy…”

“But I just want to know who you’re cursing.”

She closed her eyes and took a breath before resuming her task. “A very unpleasant person,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“The person who made you decide to live here by yourself?”

And she _especially_ didn’t want to talk about _that._ “ _Yes,_ Vali, the person who drove me here! Now will you get lost already!?”

The deafening silence that met the outburst caused her to look up at the boy, only to find a very hurt and tear filled face, before Vali stood and ran off, leaving her feeling unexpectedly unsettled. She almost called out to him, even, which made very little sense to her. She’d spent this whole time trying to drive him away, after all. So why did succeeding feel so very… uncomfortable?

“Oh, fuck,” she cursed aloud as the thought occurred to her, “Loki’s going to kill me.”

She expected to be struck down the second she stepped out of the safety of the trees after dressing and forcing herself to go after the boy to make sure he’d gotten back alright, but while Loki didn’t look any bit pleased, he silently waited while she made her way to stand before him.

“Why my son has latched onto you as much as he has, I have no idea,” he spoke up as she reached him, “But he has.”

“Apparently he thinks I’m as lonely as you are and it’s his job to fix that.”

He blinked at that, caught off guard, then frowned. “I owe you a debt for returning him safely all those times, and that is the only reason you still stand. I will not be merciful a second time.”

Anger flared in her at his presumptuousness and she glared at him. “Or maybe you could actually keep better track of him, instead of making me responsible for him, like I told you the first time it happened.”

Loki’s jaw clenched. “You obviously do not have children,” he spat.

An expression of pure hurt crossed her face before she quashed all feelings down. “No, I don’t,” she retorted coldly before he could say anything more, “And I shouldn’t have to look after yours, so keep him out of my forest.”

With that, she turned and walked back into the trees, not really paying attention to where she stepped, and it was only the consideration of the forest that kept her from stumbling or walking into any harm. She had expected many things from that meeting, but being reminded of her deepest scars was not one of them. Of course, there was no way he could have known, so she couldn’t even blame him for it. That didn’t really stop the root that tripped him on his way back to town, but she could hardly help how much the trees liked her.

She stopped when she reached an old hollow tree, overgrown with vines and flowers since she had rid it of the tainted spirit that had once made its lair within, and crawled inside. Curling up in its shelter, she allowed herself a moment to weep.

****

She awoke with a slight start to find it was morning and she was no longer alone. How Vali had managed to squeeze into the space she wasn’t taking up without waking her, she had no idea, but there he was, facing her and fast asleep. She sat up a bit and rubbed at her eyes then froze as she realised that Vali wasn’t the only outside presence there; her gaze made its way to the tree’s opening, to be met with a pair of black boots moments before their owner crouched down to peer inside.

Loki did not look particularly amused, but neither did he seem angry, just… resigned. “So, as it turns out, my son is a shapeshifting prodigy.”

She arched an eyebrow then looked down at the slumbering Vali. “That explains a few things.”

“He also seems incapable of holding grudges, which he most certainly does not get from either of his parents.”

She frowned a bit but said nothing in response, simply lied back down and went back to sleep. When she awoke again some time later, Vali was gone, though she heard him laughing outside. She crawled out of her little nest, blinking a bit in the sunlight, and looked to the side to where Loki sat against the tree, watching his son chase a pair of ravens she didn’t know with a small smile.

“I confess a certain amount of surprise you would willingly sleep in my presence,” Loki said by way of greeting, “Especially after our last parting.”

She stretched with a pleased sigh as her back popped and moved to lean against the other side of the opening, eyes on Vali. “Even if you could get away with hurting me in here; you wouldn’t in front of him.”

“No. I would not.” He huffed amusedly. “It would seem I have gone soft; my fathers would likely be ashamed of me.”

“Sounds like a ‘them’ problem.”

There was silence between them for a while, and though it was not exactly comfortable she didn’t feel the desire to say anything more. In the end it was Loki who broke it. “It seems a trait I do share with my son is the ability to unknowingly strike a nerve…”

“And you already paid for it.”

He looked at her confusedly and she glanced down to the roots between them meaningfully, causing him to huff. “I thought that came out of nowhere,” he muttered, annoyed, then eyed her a bit warily. “You have quite a hold on this forest.”

She snorted. “I didn’t tell them to do that; I just didn’t stop them. I don’t control anything here, not by force.”

“Must have been quite the favour, then.”

“One deeply corrupted spirit and a handful of restless ghosts.”

He hummed then silence stretched on for a while longer, until he turned to look at her. “I am… sorry… for the wound I reopened.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You didn’t. Just poked at it.”

“I am still sorry.”

“Your son knows about his mother, you know.” She looked over to find a startled expression. “He heard about it once while he was supposed to be sleeping, apparently.”

He looked ahead at Vali, sitting crosslegged on the ground with a raven perched on each knee. “She did not actually want children,” he said after a moment, “And she waited until the day she left, when he was three, to tell me that. She tried, she said, but she just could not love him.” He huffed a humourless laugh. “She said she grew to resent me. As if I had forced her to have him. If I had known, I would have ended things between us long before he was conceived; I would never force anyone to go through a pregnancy they do not want. And for Vali to… I know what it is like to be unwanted, why in Hel would I risk putting my own children through that?”

“Sounds like she fucked up; though with something like this, there was probably a reason she didn’t say anything.”

“There was. Her parents. They had very specific expectations of her. I am not angry that she gave in to their pressure; I am angry that she never told me of it, when she knew I, of all people, would understand.” He shook his head. “It hardly matters now, in any case, it is done.”

Another stretch of silence then she looked up at the trees. “I was almost a mother. Didn’t really expect it, we thought he was infertile, but we didn’t really have a problem with it. Our relationship was mostly sexual, but we liked each other enough to raise a child together.” She closed her eyes and took a breath. “I lost it. Disagreement with a poison-happy neighbour.”

Loki winced sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“She paid for it.”

“If the curse you told Vali of was for her, I would say she pays for it still. As well she should, mind, if that is so.”

“She didn’t really mean to make me miscarry. She didn’t know I was pregnant; that wasn’t a line she’d knowingly cross, as cruel as she could be.” She shrugged. “Didn’t make it hurt any less. Or make me less angry.”

He nodded then suddenly jolted a bit, as though he’d been shocked. “If Vali being here is too much…”

The laugh she barked in response silenced the rest of his sentence. “Vali’s fine. Annoyingly enough, I actually _like_ the little brat.”

He chuckled. “He tends to have that effect. It continually surprises people that he is _my_ son.”

They said nothing more, simply watched the boy in question resume chasing the birds that were his in all but name until he realised they were done talking about Adult Things and went over to them.

****

There was a necklace waiting for her, hanging from a tree branch in a way that suggested a bird had left it there; it was a braided dark leather cord with a cut and polished drop of an opal-like crystal. It was very pretty but quite simple, not the sort of thing that would belong to a queen. She took it with a smile and a shake of her head. She had thought maybe the boy had forgotten about his first attempt to give her a gift and her response, but really she should have known better; his thoughts ran a mile a minute and his attention span was all over the place, but he had a surprisingly good memory.

With another smile as she thought of what his reaction would be when he saw it, she put the necklace on before continuing about her current task, which proved well worth it as the boy could not keep the grin off his face the rest of the day. Loki raised a curious eyebrow upon seeing it when she met him to drop Vali off that evening, but said nothing of it, and so she assumed it was alright.

“At the rate this is going, I may as well just sign my life over to you,” Loki said amusedly by way of greeting.

“Don’t tempt me, I may just take up on that,” she joked back.

At least, he _thought_ she was joking. It was sort of hard to tell with her sometimes.

“Well, you’d have to explain it to my brother, but that aside, I do not believe I would mind overmuch.”

“You say that _now,_ but once I put you to work…” she chuckled. “No, I think it’s safe to say these are no longer favours. Not that that negates the ones that were.”

“Of course not; I would not dream of trying to cheat you out of those. I rather like breathing,” he grinned, earning a laugh.

Silence stretched on for a bit until she looked down to find Vali staring between them curiously, and she cleared her throat. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of my forest.”

Loki jolted almost imperceptibly. “Right,” he replied somewhat embarrassed before taking his son’s hand and leading them away back towards town, privately wondering just what the Hel _that_ was.

****

Carlotta knew something was wrong before the sound of flapping wings even reached her, she felt it in the very air; she looked up from her seat on a bed of moss to see a magpie diving for her and braced herself, arms ready and waiting when the bird turned into Vali moments before he reached her. The boy clung to her, sobbing, and she shifted him so he was cradled on her lap and rocked him slowly, trying her best to console him enough to find out just what was the matter.

Finally he calmed enough that the sobs turned to sniffling and the occasional hiccup and she asked him what happened, bracing for the worst. He was a little reluctant to say anything, but eventually couldn’t hold back anymore. “I-it’s all my f-fault!”

“What is, little one?”

“That m-my mother l-left father. It’s my fault f-father is s-sad!”

She winced, wondering where he’d heard that. “Oh, darling, _no,”_ she said emphatically, taking his face in her hands and brushing his tears away, “That is _not_ your fault. _Any_ of that.”

“B-but-”

“But nothing,” she interrupted firmly. “Vali; your mother made the mistake of listening to the wrong people and regretted it. You’re not responsible for that. You didn’t ask to exist, no one does. Nor are you responsible for things going wrong with her and your father; that was between them and no one else. It may have been in a way related to you, but it was not about you, not really.”

Vali looked as though he might argue but ultimately just buried his face in her shoulder, and she sighed, kissed his head and simply held him, rubbing his back soothingly every so often.

“… Does Loki know you’re here?” she asked after a long while. He shook his head and she let out a long suffering sigh. “Of course not. Boy, you really need to stop disappearing on the poor guy.” He merely snuggled closer to her in response and she rolled her eyes. At that point, Loki always looked for him in her forest before anywhere else, but it still had to be a stressful experience for the young father. “How did you even hear about your mother, anyway? You weren’t eavesdropping again, were you?”

Vali shook his head again. “A lady told me,” came the muffled reply, “She said that I was a burden and father would be better off without me.”

Carlotta’s blood ran cold and she was quite glad he couldn’t see her face at that moment, for she could only imagine what her expression looked like as a flash of pure rage flared within her. “Did she now?” she asked, voice tight with barely controlled fury she was trying very hard not to let him notice. “Would you happen to know her name? Her full name?”

“Inge Bjornsdottir,” he replied, pulling back to look up at her, and she quickly schooled her face into a smile. “She makes dresses and stares at father a _lot.”_

“That a fact?” she said with a raised brow, her theory of what the woman was up to more than confirmed. Her smile took on a slight edge as a plan formed. “Vali; how would you like to help me make scones?”

Vali’s face immediately lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. “Can we put chocolate in them?”

“Sure; whatever you want,” she replied indulgently, nudging him to get up so she could stand.

She took his hand and began leading them to her house, stopping along the way to ask a bird to let Loki know his son was safely with her. Once inside the quaint wooden house she’d grown from the ground up, she set the boy on a stool before the countertop and got out all the ingredients they would need, letting him do most of the work as he wanted, uncaring of the mess they made in the process. While the first batch of scones were baking, she distracted Vali by letting him look through some of her (safer) spellbooks, and then she got to work on the next batch; for it was a rather special batch, and she did not want him learning such things at such a young age. By the time all the scones were baked and cooled and packed away in small boxes (Vali insisted on giving some to friends and family), it was quite late, and so it came as no surprise when a knock on the door signalled Loki’s arrival.

“I thought we agreed you were going to let me know _before_ you came here, Vali,” he scolded lightly as she let him in. When the boy in question would not even look at him, Loki frowned and looked to Carlotta questioningly, who shook her head slightly and mouthed ‘Later’, causing his frown to deepen before he followed her lead. He looked around the kitchen, noticing the evidence of their day’s activity on the counters and the scent of baked goods still in the air, then walked up to Vali and ran his fingers through the boy’s hair affectionately. “I see you have been busy.”

Vali suddenly turned and wrapped his arms around his father, burying his face in his chest, and Loki looked at Carlotta in concern even as he immediately returned the embrace. “I love you, father.”

“I know that, little one,” Loki replied gently, truly beginning to worry now, “And I adore you more than anything in all the realms.”

After a moment, Vali pulled away and it was like a switch had been flipped, for he hopped down from the stool and excitedly told Loki about all they had done for the day, the baking and the books he’d read, as though nothing at all was wrong. Loki didn’t believe it for a second, but he trusted Carlotta would explain later as she’d promised, making a show of pretending to think about it when she invited them to stay for dinner and Vali asked him if they could.

After dinner the boy had finally tired himself out and Loki had to carry him back through the forest. He waited until they were at the edge to broach the subject, which she appreciated, but broach it he did. “So, why does my son think I don’t love him?” he asked, quietly so as not to wake the boy.

“He knows you love him, he just thinks you shouldn’t. And before you go blaming yourself; it’s nothing you’ve done. Apparently, one of your admirers isn’t too pleased with the idea of becoming a stepmother, and sought to remedy the problem by making him think it’s his fault you’re alone and that if he went away, you could finally be happy.”

Loki was eerily still for a moment. “What?”

“She told him it was his fault his mother left, that he’s a burden to you and you’d be better off without him.”

“Who?” he asked lowly.

She shook her head and held out the box of scones he’d noticed she had kept out of Vali’s reach as he’d rambled on about who the rest were for. “Just make sure these get to her and her alone.”

He began to protest, demand she tell him so he could deal with the problem in his own way, but as soon as the box touched his hand his words choked off and he almost dropped it. He looked between it and her perfectly unconcerned face in slight shock then nodded, understanding what she was doing. “Remind to never, ever scorn you,” he said, eyeing her slightly warily.

At that, her face broke into a wide smile that made his breath hitch slightly. “That’s very unlikely.”

****

The wards had snagged something, something powerful, and Carlotta quickly made her way towards it on the offered back of the stag she’d been conversing with. She got off a ways away with thanks and went the rest of the way on foot, not wanting to risk her friend. She knew it wasn’t Loki, as the wards would have let him in, and Vali was not that big of a presence even if he could get caught in them; so whoever it was, was a stranger.

She disliked strangers.

When she broke through the treeline, she groaned quietly as she was met with a rather puzzled looking Thor, and not for the first time cursed out the fates and their apparent liking for entangling her life with the House of Odin. At least he wasn’t unravelling the spells. “You’re trespassing,” she called shortly, getting his attention, “Turn around. Walk away.”

“I would speak with you, Lady of this forest,” he said instead, “And I had no way to send prior word, with both my brother and nephew away.”

She made her way to stand before him and crossed her arms at her chest. “Fine; what do you want?”

Thor made to get to the point, realising that what Loki had said about her brusqueness was entirely accurate, but his gaze was drawn to her neck, or rather what she wore on it, and he smiled a bit. “So, that is where that went.”

She arched a brow then brought her hand up to the necklace Vali had given her. “You know this?”

“I bought it for a maiden I thought to court, ages ago, but she turned out to be most unpleasant and instead I gave it to a friend. Curiously, it vanished recently. Now I know where.”

“The boy gave it to me; I didn’t know it was stolen,” she said, reaching behind her neck to take it off.

Thor raised a hand to stop her. “No, please, keep it. Sif only ever accepted it out of spite; she never actually wanted or wore it, she just did not want Amora to have it. I am glad to know it serves a much better purpose now.”

She frowned a bit but lowered her hands, silently glad she wouldn’t have to give it up after all, as she was quite fond of it. “So, what brings you here uninvited?”

He turned serious. “A rather less pleasant matter. It has been brought to my attention that you have cursed one of my people quite gravely.”

“You’re certain it was me?”

“The woman in question is. She claims you seek to eliminate any who stand in the way of ensnaring my brother for yourself.”

Carlotta blinked at that, then laughed. And laughed. And _laughed._ He caught her by the waist when her knees buckled from it, and she clung to him as she tried to get herself under control. When she finally managed to stop laughing, she stood up straight, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, and patted his arm gratefully. “Oh, I haven’t laughed that hard in decades,” she said somewhat breathlessly, then cleared her throat. “Of all the things I want in this life, I assure you, ensnaring Loki is not one of them.”

“I did not think it was,” Thor assured. “I do believe you cursed her, however, as do plenty of the mortals of the town.”

“Well, they also think I eat children, so,” she shrugged.

His lips twitched up briefly. “It is my duty as King to seek justice, you must know this. I need to know why you have done this.”

“Because she made the mistake of hurting someone I care about; and if I hadn’t been here to catch him, it would probably not have ended well.”

Thor mulled her words over for a moment. “Vali, then?” he guessed, remembering how his nephew had been a bit downcast some days before the curse had been brought to his attention. She nodded sharply. “And would I be correct in assuming her accusations as to your motive were more projection than anything else?”

“She knows exactly what she’s paying for; that’s how I weave my curses. Not as satisfying to punish someone if they don’t know what they’re being punished for.”

“There should have been a trial…” he said disapprovingly.

A sharp smirk. “Not where I come from.”

He eyed her for a moment then huffed a laugh. “I can see why Loki likes you so much. Though, I must ask…”

“And I don’t need to answer.”

“I only do not wish to see him be hurt again. Vali’s mother-”

“Was her own person, as I am mine. And the point is moot, besides.”

Thor nodded, believing he understood. “I only ask, if he ever finds the nerve to say anything, that you let him down gently. Loki is very fond of acting as though nothing affects him, but that could not be farther from the truth.”

She huffed. “Go home, Odinson. And next time, send one of the ravens; you’re lucky you stumbled upon one of the harmless wards, _this_ time.”

****

The warning spread through the trees like wildfire -- which was appropriate, all things considered -- and she rushed out of the river followed by the bear she’d been fishing alongside, jumping onto her back to speed up the journey. She wove a Working along the way, aimed at the sky, and clouds began to gather where they were needed, dropping a sudden deluge upon the ground and extinguishing the flames before they could get too far, startling those responsible.

Of course, that was nothing compared to their surprise at the sight of her arrival upon a really quite large bear.

“Who dares attack my home?” she demanded, glaring at the two men and one woman before her. The woman whose haggard appearance answered the question before she could open her mouth, and Carlotta bared her teeth at her. _“You.”_

“We have come so that you will lift your curse on our sister, witch,” one of the men said assertively, though his fearful glance at the unexpected bear belied his tone.

“I will not; and burning my trees has just earned you all another one.”

“You will lift your curse, or we will kill you where you stand!” the other retorted, and while he’d clearly been as surprised by the bear, he was not as fearful as his brother.

She scoffed derisively. “That’s cute. Walk away and accept your punishment; I won’t ask again.” Instead they pulled their swords from their belts and she frowned a bit then hopped down from the bear’s back. “Suit yourselves.”

“You have ruined everything!” Inge spat, glaring at her hatefully before sneering, “But if I cannot have him, I can at least make sure that you will not, either.”

Carlotta rolled her eyes. “You are pathetic. Has it occurred to you that even if he didn’t love me, he wouldn’t be very interested in someone perfectly willing to _traumatise his child_ trying to get what they want?”

“He does not _need_ the brat, I could have borne him a hundred more!” Inge practically screeched. Carlotta merely raised an eyebrow at her, clearly unimpressed. _“You will not have him!”_

With that, she threw the lantern in her hand towards the trees, causing it to shatter and splatter oil over the plants that quickly caught fire. At the same time, her brothers advanced on Carlotta and the bear, forcing her to divide her attention. With a great roar, the bear charged at the man who’d first spoken, who, while bolstered some by his brother’s bravado, still flinched. Carlotta grasped a handful of air and, with intent and a thought, swept her hand out before her and sent a powerful gust of wind at the advancing opponent that threw him back, buying herself some time.

And with that time, Carlotta turned to the flames quickly spreading over her home -- her _charge_ \-- and grit her teeth; focusing her anger, she beckoned to the fire, calling it, enticing it to leave the plants alone - and wouldn’t it have more fun with a moving target? Something that would try to resist its bite? It could prove itself the stronger will, and she would gladly be its tool to do so.

And the flames agreed.

Following the current of oxygen she’d redirected for just that purpose, the fire left the plants and flowed towards her, enveloping a sword she’d coaxed from the very earth and air. Carlotta turned just in time to block the sword aimed for her neck and, with a roar to match her friend’s, pushed back, surprising Inge’s brother with her strength.

“You… you are no mere human,” he said in realisation, briefly glancing at Inge almost accusingly, though the gesture was missed as the woman herself was staring at Carlotta in shock.

“I’ve never claimed to be,” Carlotta retorted with a sharp grin, “You’re in over your head, silly man.”

“Whatever you are; I will still kill you!” he sneered before charging at her again.

She sidestepped his swing and brought her sword down across his back, earning a grunt of pain as the flames bit into the gash. “Yes, I can see that.”

That got an angry growl as her opponent turned and charged again, though significantly less carelessly. He quickly learned that his attention had to be focused on the fire as much as the woman who wielded it, for the way it flared towards him with every clash of their swords suggested it had a mind of its own, which was very much intent on sinking its teeth into him. Still, he was not without skill and experience, and held his own well.

Carlotta diverted bits of her attention to coax the ground to become cracked and brittle beneath her opponent, tripping him up, and to the wind to loosen the tie he had his hair in, blowing it into his face to blind him. That combined with the eager fire had him off balance enough to make up the difference in their swordsmanship; for while not unskilled, she was no warrior, never had been. Her skills lay elsewhere and she put them to good use now.

“Enough with your trickery, witch! Fight me with honour!”

She snorted. “Demands for honour from one who came planning to outnumber? Oh, the irony.”

A particularly bad stumble gave her a perfect opening to strike, but before she could take it a pained roar to the side caught her attention. Inge had decided to make herself useful by distracting the bear, giving her other brother the opening to attack her flank, and he was now aiming to take the advantage to slay the animal.

“NO!” Carlotta yelled, turning to swing her sword towards the other man, sending out a burst of flames from it that hit him right in the face, making him drop his sword with a scream of agony and attempt to put the flames out.

Her previous opponent had, meanwhile, taken the opportunity to regain his footing and slash at her exposed side, earning a cry of pain as she went down, dropping her sword and causing it to dissolve into the elements that had forged it. The man sneered down at her, “In over my head, am I?”

Carlotta made to reply but paused as something caught her attention, and instead laughed. “Oh, you’re already dead.”

“Your tricks cannot save you now,” he spat, raising his sword to strike.

“But perhaps mine can,” Loki countered as he undid the concealment spell he’d used to come up behind him unnoticed and plunged his daggers into either side of his ribs, forcing magic into the wounds to freeze his insides.

Inge cried out in shock and horror as her brother fell, though the murderous glare Loki sent her way was more than enough to keep her away. The Trickster then crouched by Carlotta, assessing the damage before taking out a healing stone to deal with it.

“That was careless,” he scolded as he worked, deeply displeased, “And all for a bear?”

“For a _friend,”_ she retorted with a warning glare, causing him to roll his eyes.

“A _friend_ who would have perished regardless with you dead,” he countered, then his gaze snapped up to Inge, who was attempting to sneak away with her remaining brother. “Do not even _think_ to move.”

“Leave them,” Carlotta said dismissively, “They’ll get theirs as soon as I get back to the house.”

His jaw clenched, but ultimately he turned back to her, finishing mending the wound and ignoring the siblings as they fled. As soon as he was done, she was up and moving to the bear, murmuring soothingly at her as she checked the wound. She turned to Loki and held her hand out to him expectantly, causing him to regard her incredulously, to which she simply raised a brow. With a sigh, he took another healing stone out of his pocket and gave it to her, attempting to ignore the fluttering in his chest when she smiled gratefully in response before turning back to her friend and failing miserably. Once she was done and sent the bear on her way, he insisted on walking her to her house, to which she rolled her eyes but did not bother arguing against.

“Where’s Vali?” she asked as they walked, noting the boy’s conspicuous absence even now that the threat was over.

“Likely making his uncle regret ever offering to watch him,” he replied amusedly.

“Then why did you come?” she asked confusedly, as he’d never visited without having Vali as his excuse for doing so before.

“I wished to speak with you,” he replied then swallowed a bit, suddenly uncertain, “Am I not welcome?”

“You’ve just never visited alone before. It stands out, is all.”

“Ah. I suppose it does.” He absently picked at his left hand, trying to organise his thoughts, before stopping and turning to her, prompting her to do the same. “Carlotta, I…”

“… By the earth; you’re bad at this,” she laughed when she realised he wasn’t going to finish his sentence, causing his brows to furrow. “I already know, Loki. I’ve known for a while, actually.”

“You… know?” She nodded. “You never said anything.”

“I figured that you were ignoring it until it went away.”

“I was, actually,” he confessed. “I don’t want this.”

“That’s fair.”

“Is it?”

“No one can choose who they love, but they can decide what they do about it, if anything.”

“What of you? You know how I feel, but I do not know your heart.”

“I… am not leaving here.”

He looked away for a moment. “And what if I did not ask you to?”

“Aren’t you?”

He steeled his nerves and stepped closer. “No.”

“… Well, then. What then, indeed?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment? This got out of hand so many times, I need the validation. XD


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